Postcard from Pinehurst: The demonic tape recorder and my new pal, Phil Mickelson

In my dreams as a kid of covering events like the U.S. Open, they never included a tape recorder that went to the dark side.

But mine did. After years of being a trusted companion, it just quit working, right before I was set to interview several members of the advance team for the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. My tape recorder was dead. Nothing. Not even new batteries helped.

Last night, I went to bed early to treat myself to six hours of sleep. But at 1 a.m., I started to hear this odd beeping noise. It was the kind of noise that you hope will go away because you don’t want to get up, but you know that it won’t.

After about 15 minutes, I could take it no longer, and I got up. Five minutes later, I finally discovered what was making the noise: my tape recorder. It was flashing and beeping but still not functional. So I did the only humane thing to this terminally ill piece of equipment: I broke it into 1,000 pieces. And of course, it took me an hour to fall back asleep. So much for the six hours.

I went shopping yesterday at the 39,000-square-foot main merchandise pavilion at Pinehurst No. 2. I asked a worker what was the weirdest item in the store. His answer was the periscopes, and by luck, the owner was there to help hawk them.

He was Phil Mickelson. Not that Phil Mickelson, but his pop. And after a long chat with my new buddy, I realized the periscopes aren’t really that weird after all. If you are back in the gallery, it’s tough to see the action. But the periscope extends 22 1/2 inches into the air, so you are seeing above everyone’s heads, and it has a zoom lens so you can get closer to the action.

“It’s like being on a two-foot ladder with a pair of binoculars, but using just one eye,” Mickelson said.

Years ago, he wanted to buy a dozen so he and his friends could more easily follow golfer Phil at tournaments. When he contacted the owner, Mickelson was “offered such a good deal, I bought the company.”

Phil’s a nice guy and will undoubtedly be at next year’s U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. And say hi. Just look for the guy using a periscope.

Want to be a reader contributor to The Seattle Times’ Take 2 blog? Email your original, previously unpublished work or proposal to Sports Editor Don Shelton at dshelton@seattletimes.com or sports@seattletimes.com. Not all submissions can be published. Opinions expressed are those of authors, and The Times reserves the right to edit and publish any submissions online and/or in print.

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Want to be a reader contributor to The Seattle Times’ Take 2 blog? Email your original, previously unpublished work or proposal to Sports Editor Don Shelton at dshelton@seattletimes.com or sports@seattletimes.com. Not all submissions can be published. The Times reserves the right to edit and publish any submissions online and/or in print.